I brew all grain in 5 gallon batches and keg rather than bottle. Then I force carbonate with CO2 The results have been very good. Now I want to bottle a six pack or so to give away. I tried bottling from the keg by using a bottom fill filling tube but the carbonation drops and the bottled results are flat beer. I tried over carbonating the keg which helped but still the bottles are not as carbonated as the keg. Any suggestions to bottle from a keg with the same quality product.
PR

From what I have read, the only way to really accomplish this is to use a counterflow pressure bottle filler. But apparently these are a pain in the !@# to use. Plus, I am always interested in experimenting with homebrew so I am trying alternatives to that fancy method.

This is my idea. I have never tried it, but it was recommended to me by the owner of my local HBS. I will be trying it out within the next couple days. Here it is:

Chill the carbonated beer as cold as possible without freezing. Make sure you have slightly overcarbonated the beer, using the appropriate PSI for the temp of your fridge/kegerator etc. Release head pressure, but apply enough to just ever so slightly push the beer out. Next, using 1/8" inside diameter beverage line (inserted to the bottom of the bottle), fill the bottles. Cap immediately. I would think that if the beer is cold and if you are using just one or two pounds of pressure to dispense it should it should cut back on foam and leave enough carbonation for drinking later. If you have ever done a batch at a Brew on Premise place, you would have bottled the beer in a manner similar to this because they generally don't have proper bottling equipment. The beer is a little less carbed in general, but I think homebrewers have the advantage because we can tweak the carb level to our tastes. Using the tight diameter beverage line is very important to to prevent excessive foaming.

Gas your beer as normal. When you want to put some in bottles, for a party or whatever;

1.) Turn gas right down and purge all gas from the keg slowly.

2.) Turn gas on with the tap open into a glas until it just slowly creeps out.

3.) Pour into your bottles, and have your capper ready.

I have done this now a few times, and if you are going to drink them within a few hours and you keep them cold, you should be o.k. Its not perfect, but you cant tell the difference, honestly, and they are still carbonated. I dont know what would happen if you let them get to room temp, but if they are capped, they really shouldnt lose carbonation. I will try bottling a sample, then letting it get to room temp, leaving for a week chilling, then trying just to see what happens. Will let you know what happens. Give it a go, you wont be disappointed, and your friends will be impressed with the fact that there is no sediment at all, just drink it like a bottle of commercial beer

1) If you had a way to keep the beer at 32 degrees F, or even a little colder for more alcoholic beers, while bottling. The lagers would typically be served at 45 and ales at about 50 or 55. This temperature differential would allow the gas to expand, maybe to the point where it would appear well-carbonated. The effect may be negligible. I haven't tried this, but maybe someone has.

2) Larger bottles will have a smaller headspace to volume ratio. Thus they may be better for keeping the beer well carbonated.